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While the school year might have officially ended, Clark County Public Schools has continued to show its support for students both before and after. 

Among other activities, Conkwright Elementary School had a red carpet walk and a girls’ STEM camp was held at Baker Intermediate School to promote positive education. 

“We started a tradition here where every kid gets celebrated, every kid gets to walk the red carpet, and every kid gets an award for something they have accomplished,” said Megan Swart, Principal of Conkwright Elementary School. “It’s not a superlative, but it’s something that they have academically accomplished this year.” 

“What we’re trying to do is get girls excited about things in science,” said Heather Crowl, a retired fifth- and sixth-grade teacher at Baker Intermediate School. “I think so many times they have no idea the kind of things that are out there.” 

The red carpet walk at Conkwright Elementary School, which features over 500 students, gave all students an opportunity to receive an award and be celebrated. 

Swart and staff saw it as an opportunity to get away from common ceremonies, where it might seem that some of the same students receive awards frequently. 

Faculty members are as excited as others. 

“The faculty [also] gets dressed up, and then each of the homeroom teachers gets to decide what the award’s going to be,” Swart added. “They look at our…data, or the kids’ reading levels, or math assessment, or different things to decide which academic achievement they’re going to highlight.” 

While kids show noticeable excitement, the event is also well appreciated by parents. 

“They love it,” Swart said. “Every kid gets to be celebrated.” 

During the science camp at Baker Intermediate School, numerous faculty were involved as well. 

Among them was Clark County Public Schools District Technology Resource Teacher Jennifer Turley, who used Tinkercad technology to show students how three-dimensional printing works. 

“[Students] got to see how, sometimes in the medical industry, [professionals] might 3D print a heart, or they might 3D print a chest so that a doctor can see where a tumor is,” Turley said. “Our goal was to…inspire them to sort of think like a scientist, and sort of start to think about some of the things they can do.” 

Sixth grade science teacher Kaille Weistroffer and recently hired STEM teacher Taylor Watson were also present. 

Additional stations during the camp – featuring over 40 girls –  included virtual reality, as well as an opportunity to see how to control Sphero Bolt coding robots. 

Other opportunities included visiting the Toyota assembly plant in Georgetown. 

“I think it’s a fabulous opportunity for these young girls,” said Watson. “This is something new to me, also that I’m loving how to use.”